


Old Myths Torn Asunder

by blaziken



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bodyguard AU, First Kiss, Kidnapping, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blaziken/pseuds/blaziken
Summary: What struck Dorian the most, was how trulyafraidhe was for perhaps the first time in his life.------------------For the Adoribull Secret Santa/Holiday Exchange!
Relationships: Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22
Collections: Adoribull Holiday Gift Exchange 2020!





	Old Myths Torn Asunder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HelixaHallwood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelixaHallwood/gifts).



> I was Maj's gifter for the Adoribull Secret Santa exchange!! I chose to do the Bodyguard AU mixed with some kidnapping and a bit of h/c thrown in for good measure. I hope you enjoy!

The threat of kidnapping had always been something hanging over Dorian Pavus, _especially_ owing to his position as one of the highest profile mages to ever leave Tevinter. But, as was his way, he never _truly_ considered it a threat: at least, up until he was greeted with an anti-magic device, and some very, _very_ angry Fereldans. Dorian had always been a smooth talker, always able to get himself out of the most sticky of situations: but even then, he knew he was able to rely on his magic to do so. But being here now, tied up and barely able to hold onto consciousness, what struck Dorian the most, was how truly _afraid_ he was for perhaps the first time in his life. And that, the last image that flashed through his mind before he was finally rendered unconscious was that of The Iron Bull.

* * *

In the beginning, Dorian had always been complacent with his personal security. He wasn't the most powerful Mage by any stretch of the imagination, but he'd always been a quick thinker, and even quicker with his hands. Though, in this modern day there were weapons that were faster than even the most prolific Mage could judge. After a very close call with one of these weapons, Dorian had finally relented after more than one verbal beating from his close friend and confidant Varric. Varric had more than enough connections to suggest a plethora of reputable firms, but Dorian was _very_ picky with who he wanted to live with, and tail him at every moment of his day. But Varric was a patient man, and every time Dorian came to him with a look that Varric _knew_ at this point, he'd be straight back on the phone to hunt down the next candidate for Dorian's impeccable scrutiny. 

It had been a hard task: he'd gone through seven different bodyguards in the space of a year, and it was Dorian himself that was starting to lose his patience. He'd had a mass of complaints about each of them, from the menial to the downright offensive, but none of them were right. Dorian knew they were there to protect him where his own magic couldn't, but he was adamant he would not effectively spend his life with someone he didn't love to have as company. 

"You sound like you're looking for a boyfriend, not a bodyguard, sparkler." 

"Varric I assure you I have no trouble in my romantic endeavors, thank you very much." 

"Whatever you say. Though, I’m pretty sure the next one is going to be _the one._ " 

Dorian had scoffed at him and expected nothing from what would only be the next on a long line of disappointments. But that's when he met The Iron Bull. A giant of a Qunari with arms as thick as tree trunks and the broadest shoulders Dorian had ever seen. He wore a simple black shirt and tie combination, similarly to his predecessors, but Dorian could only imagine the reams of extra fabric that was needed to fit his enormous bulk. Dorian instantly realised what Varric had meant by his sly comment. Dorian's preferences when it came to his partners were no secret, he liked larger men than him and that was that. He wasn't ashamed of what he liked, but the first time he set eyes on Bull he knew he was in danger. 

It had been a… tense relationship at first. Bull was loud and rowdy and dangerously flirty with Dorian, and Dorian had tried his best to bite his tongue at every turn. After all, Bull was by far the best guard Dorian had ever come across, and truth be told, there was _something_ there that made Dorian want their partnership to work out, something that, deep down, he wasn't ready to acknowledge yet. But, biting back at the Bull was something that seemed to happen so naturally for him, there were times Dorian couldn’t even help it himself. But, Dorian had very quickly earned that even hiss occasionally mean spirited comments wouldn't even phase him. In fact, he gave back as good as he got. And for Dorian, that was perfect. Bull matched Dorian’s sass with his own, was stronger and more attentive to small details than anyone Dorian has ever seen, and flirted with Dorian in a way that made Dorian’s stomach clench. 

Dorian hadn’t truly appreciated his strength though until the first time an unlucky assailant had made an attempt on Dorian’s life in Bull’s presence. It was very obvious that many of the Southerners weren’t best pleased with Dorian bringing his Magic into their Country, after all, Magic was a dying trade in the South and was treated with plenty of scorn and resentment by many of the citizens. But there were always those who decided to take it too far, and the poor sod who thought he would be able to get the drop on both Dorian and Bull were sorely mistaken. The assailant’s hand was crushed and the knife dropped to the floor before Dorian had even realised he was under attack, and barely had a chance to crackle the slightest bit of energy between his fingers before the man was being held three feet in the air by the throat. That was the time that Dorian confirmed two things: one, that The Iron Bull was the perfect choice for him, and two, that Dorian was painfully attracted to the Qunari. 

But, Dorian couldn’t risk getting involved with his own Bodyguard. If things ever broke badly between them, there would be no way Dorian could continue to employ Bull after it. Though, that didn’t seem to stop Bull’s _incessant_ flirting, especially once he’d realised how much it very obviously affected Dorian. But, despite everything, Dorian felt more comfortable with Bull than he had with anyone else in his life.

Their relationship carried on that way for over a year, not quite blurring the lines between employer and employee, no matter how much both of them knew Dorian wanted it. But, it was also into Bull’s second year of employment that a storm began brewing for them. Dorian had only managed to piss off a few individual Southerners with his growing fame in Orlais, and his perpetual presence in Fereldan, but it wasn’t long before he eventually royally fucked off the wrong people. 

He had only considered them to be a gang of low life thugs, looking to make a quick bit of cash from a thorough beat down of Dorian. They’d been chased away many times by Bull, but Dorian had started to notice them more frequently watching them, almost _studying_ them. If Bull had noticed he hadn’t mentioned anything, but Dorian felt himself becoming more unnerved by the day.

His paranoia continued to eat away at him for a few more weeks, before he _finally_ understood what had been happening. Every few days, there were a few incidental moments where Bull and Dorian were separated. It was never anything major, simply a place Bull had to visit that Dorian was never able to follow, but it was enough. The ‘thugs’ had been calculative, waiting for the perfect moment when Dorian was fully alone to immediately pounce. The anti-magic tech they’d used was nothing like Dorian had come across before, and it had rendered him basically useless: aside from his obvious drop in power, it seemed to sap his very energy from him. This would have been more than enough for them to do whatever damage they wanted to him, but they had other plans. A makeshift gag was forced roughly into his mouth, and the last thing that Dorian felt before he was clubbed over the back oof the head was _fear._

* * *

When Dorian came to, he felt incredibly groggy and not just from the blow to his head. He still felt warm blood trickling down his face so he’d assumed he hadn’t been out for too long, but the disconnect he felt from his mana made him ache to his very core. His hands and legs were bound together and he was led awkwardly on a grubby floor, his eyes barely able to adjust to his dingy surroundings. He was still gagged, and as he tried to shift himself on the floor into a slightly more bearable position his shoulder throbbed in pain. He assumed it was dislocated by how weak that arm felt, and he loathed to try and move anymore in case he did any more damage to it. He hadn’t found it within him to start to panic yet, it took all his energy to try and focus and orient himself through the haze in his mind. 

After a few minutes, he heard a metal door slam shut in the distance and froze, his mind tried to catch up to itself and finally the tinges of fear and panic began to seep into the edges of Dorian’s consciousness. He was defenseless, and completely at the mercy of his captors: people who he hadn’t even seen the faces of. That was about to change though, as he heard multiple sets of footsteps and voices drawing ever closer to him. He tried his best to calm his growing panic: he would _not_ allow them to know they’d managed to get under his skin, but when his assailants finally showed their faces in front of him, he was taken aback. He wasn’t greeted by the grubby thugs with even less sense than money that he expected, but a clean cut, stylishly dressed and _very_ attractive man, flanked by two more clean cut men in suits. The first one was clearly the superior, though, as he looked to the other two and nodded towards Doran in a motion that they clearly understood. They moved to either side of Dorian and yanked him up off the ground, causing him to yell in pain at the jostling of his shoulder. He was somewhat grateful he was still gagged though, as he was able to bite down on the cloth in his mouth to bear at least a small amount of the pain. no matter how strong he wanted to portray himself in front of these men, it would have been hard for _anyone_ to not cry out because of a dislocated shoulder. The men hefted him up onto a steel chair but moved away immediately once the leader made his way to step in front of Dorian. He hooked his finger under Dorian's chin and lifted, forcing Dorian to make eye contact with him, something that Dorian didn't have the strength to fight against.

"Well you are a sight, aren't you? A Qunari's pet mage, reduced to nothing by one small piece of tech. Well, I suppose it's too much to ask for anything _less_ pathetic to come from a Vint after all."

Dorian tried to mumble a response through the gag but it was too muffled to make any sense of it.

"Don't bother, I won't be removing the gag. You can just listen. Besides, I wouldn't want you running your mouth and trying to interrupt me now, would I?" The man paused in thought for a moment, then moved Dorian's head to either side, studying his face intensely. "But my my, you are pretty though aren't you, mage? Perhaps I'll stuff your mouth with something far more exciting once I've taken out a little bit of my anger on you." The man dropped his hand from Dorian's face and, without warning, punched him square in the stomach.

Pain flashed behind Dorian's eyes as he tried to scream, the jostling of his shoulder paired with the blow to his stomach had him doubled over, his hands still firmly tied behind his back.

"You see, this is nothing personal. I have no quarrel with _you,_ Vint. But I do have a problem with what you've brought back into my homeland. Magic does not belong here anymore, and I've been _trying_ to send you some simpler messages but clearly they've been falling on deaf ears." The man stepped away for a moment and returned with a long, thick wooden plank. "So unfortunately for you, I have to deliver this message louder." To accentuate his point, he swung the plank full force into Dorian's already damaged shoulder with a loud crack. Mercifully, the blow set his shoulder back into place, but not without a tremendous amount of pain. He screamed, what time, not even the gag managing to fully muffle his pain.

"I won't be keeping you here, no need to worry about that. I'll just have a little more fun with you and send you on your merry way. Perhaps your Qunari will find you in a few days time, after which we'll be long gone." He dropped the plank and swung a fist at Dorian's face, punching him square in the cheek and very nearly rendered Dorian unconscious for a second time. "But I would hope that, once we've dumped you somewhere, you'll think twice about remaining here for any further length of time." The man noticed Dorian's waning grip on awareness and grabbed his jaw roughly, jerking his attention back to eye level. "Ah we can't be having that now, can we mage? We can't have you missing the final act now, can we?"

There was a sudden loud crashing noise from further within the Warehouse, followed by various screams and shouts from many different voices. "What in the world..." The man nodded to the two guards that had accompanied him and gestured to the door, "Go and see what's causing the racket, it's interrupting my chat." They both nodded and slipped out of the door, leaving Dorian alone with his abductor, who turned back to face him. "Now, where was I? Ah yes, you." He swung his fist into the other side of Dorian's head which caused him to hang limply, consciousness slowly fading from the edges of his vision.

The shouts outside though didn't cease, and only served to move close and closer. Dorian could barely form any coherent thoughts at that point, but the image of Bull kept playing over and over in his head. The shouts eventually stopped dead, and all that was left was a set of _very_ heavy footsteps nearing the door. The was a beat of silence, before the metal door was kicked off its hinges, revealing the hulking form of The Iron Bull. The colour drained from the abductor's face as he saw his life flash before his eyes, and he dropped to his knees to plead with the Qunari.

"W...we can work something out, y...you don't have to do this, it was just... just a warning!"

Bull took no notice of his pleading and took a few sure steps towards him, eyes dark and full of anger. He reached down and grabbed the man by his collar, and launched him at the wall without a second thought, his form immediately falling limp to the ground. Satisfied there was no further threat, he hunched over and carefully removed the gag from Dorian's mouth.

"Hey Dorian, can you hear me?" Bull's face was stern but there was more than a hint over worry behind his visible eye.

Dorian felt relief wash over him, but he knew he couldn't hold on to consciousness much longer. "There's...an anti magic device...somewhere..." was all he was able to mutter out before he blacked out completely.

* * *

Dorian awoke three days later, the constant beeping and acidic clean smell of a hospital surrounded him and made him _desperate_ to not open his eyes. The first thing he'd noticed was that he felt full control over his mana again, whatever device his assailants had used had at least warn off in the time he'd been out. At least Bull had got there in time and- _Bull!_ Dorian snapped open his eyes and winced as the lights blinded him momentarily, but as his vision finally focused, his eyes came to rest on the massive form of Bull, perched awkwardly on a chair in the corner, looking at something very intently on his phone. Dorian breathed a sigh of relief, then started to pull himself into a sitting position. Bull immediately pocketed his phone and stood, crossing the room in a few steps. He slotted his hand under Dorian's uninjured shoulder and helped him up, placing more hospital pillows behind his back as he did so. He poured Dorian a glass of water and handed it to him, and it took that gesture for Dorian to realise how dry his mouth was. He took a few careful sips, and satisfied that his jaw was in tact, gave Bull a small smile.

"Well, suffice to say that was an absolutely terrible experience that I should not wish to participate in again." Dorian's voice was hoarse, but he didn't care. He was alive, he was safe, and Bull was here to watch over him once again.

"Yeah well, remind me to strap you to my back next time you go anywhere so those fucks will think twice about it. "Bull's expression had softened upon hearing Dorian be his usual self.

"Should I be worried about any repercussions from that absolute carnage?"

"Nah don't worry about it, I already cleared it with Varric. They'll want your statement eventually but not until _I_ tell them they can talk to you."

Dorian smiled softly at Bull, softer than he'd have thought possible before. He'd had a... realisation that had manifested through his fear. His life was far too short to deny himself some of the simpler things he wanted in his life. Like the hulking Qunari stood over him. He reached up and gripped Bull's tie, then pulled him down gently so that he was eye level with Dorian. "Thank you, Bull."

"I'm just doing my job, Dorian."

"No really, thank you." He pulled Bull towards him the rest of the way and pressed their lips together, slow and soft and languid. But the meaning was enough, and as Bull's lips quirked into a smile, Dorian felt him bring his hand up to rest on the back of his head.

"I love you, Bull... Amatus..."

"And I, you, Kadan."

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun with this!! I love writing Adoribull so much, so i hope you all enjoy.  
> As always, you can find me on Twitter [@clothhwaltz](https://twitter.com/clothhwaltz)


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